News and Media

(12/3/2018) City of Fremantle welcomes Passenger Terminal upgrades

A $3 million refurbishment of the Fremantle Passenger Terminal has been welcomed by the City of Fremantle, with the hope there will be even greater improvements to come.

The state government has announced the upgrade of the heritage-listed building will include the construction of a new central canopy over the terminal entrance, re-painting the façade, refurbishing the ground floor foyer and new furniture in the transit area.

Fremantle Mayor Brad Pettitt said the announcement was good news, but more needed to be done to create a world-class entry statement for cruise ship passengers.

“The cruise ship industry is a crucial industry for Fremantle and for Western Australia, with around 160 000 passengers arriving at the passenger terminal every year and direct expenditure in Fremantle of almost $150 million,” Mayor Pettitt said.

“While the upgrades to the terminal will be a great short-term improvement, once passengers walk out of the terminal they’ll still find themselves in a giant, ugly carpark.

“I’m pleased to hear Transport Minister Rita Saffioti’s comments about achieving better links to the Fremantle train station and Fremantle city centre being part of the state government’s future planning for this area.

“The City of Fremantle is eager to work with the government to progress that planning as quickly as possible.”

An independent report commissioned by the City of Fremantle in 2016 identified the development of the South Quay precinct would generate 3 700 new jobs, attract private investment of $3.5 billion and return almost $1 billion to the state over 20 years.

The transformation of South Quay and Fremantle Oval precincts were identified as priority projects in the City’s Freo 2029 Transformational Moves strategy to unlock Fremantle’s potential as a vibrant and sustainable urban centre.